Game 6: Warriors at Cavs

1. Well, it's over. The Warriors closed out the series in six games. They won the last three games of the series to win, 4-2. The best team won the series. There's no question about that. The Warriors had superior talent. Other than LeBron James, of course.2. James averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists in the Finals. It's the first time an NBA player averaged those numbers for a playoff series. He also became the first player to lead both teams in scoring, rebounding and assists during the NBA Finals.3. If the Cavs had all their players, perhaps they could have won a title. Now, it's going to be a challenge to bring back this entire unit. The odds are that it won't happen. But they do need to bring back the Big Three, and as many of the key role players are possible. The Cavs could very well be back in the Finals again next season. They can be that good.4. I truly believe when Steve Kerr made the adjustment of going small for Game 4, that's when the momentum shifted in the Warriors' favor. They won the final three games of the series to close out the Cavs.5. The Finals' MVP race came down to three players: Stephen Curry, James and the eventual winner, Andre Iguodala. He accepted the trophy from Bill Russell after the game. I kept waiting for him to falter in this series, and he never did. He made James work extremely hard in the series. He held James under 40 percent shooting in the series. He was 13 of 33 from the field in Game 6.
6. Curry just kept getting better as the series progressed. Matthew Dellavedova became less of a factor as the series progressed. I think it was never fair the way Delly was put on this pedestal early on in this series. It just set him up to fail. Let's face it, he's a backup point guard, a role player. He was undrafted for a reason. He's not real athletic and not terribly skilled. His best skill is his ability to play physical and hustle. Heck, he'll be a restricted free agent this summer. The Cavs can't go nuts trying to sign him. They do need to upgrade that position because you know Kyrie Irving is going to miss some games.7. Speaking of getting paid, Tristan Thompson had his fourth consecutive double-double with 15 points, 13 rebounds and a block. He averaged 13.8 rebounds in the Finals.8. Guard J.R. Smith had 15 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. He made the final score more respectable. It was his best game of the Finals. He was a big disappointment in the Finals. It's not a good thing when he's your second-best offensive player. He's a complementary players and that's all he should be.9. We all probably remember the Rick Barry-led Warriors winning the 1975 title. But the Warriors also won the Basketball Association of America title in 1946-47 under coach/owner Eddie Gottlieb. They also won the NBA crown in 1955-56, the second year of the 24-second clock.10. Iguodala averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the Finals to win MVP honors. He also shot 52 percent from the field.STARTERSSF LeBron James (6-8, 250) vs. Andre Iguodala (6-6, 215)

Game 5: Cavs at Warriors

1. This was actually the Cavaliers' first two-game losing streak in the playoffs. The Warriors want to come to Cleveland and close it out on Tuesday. The Cavs don't want that to happen at The Q, much less anywhere.2. LeBron James played in beast mode for much of the night: 40 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists and a steal in 45 minutes. However, the Cavs needed more from their supporting cast. Tristan Thompson did have 19 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. They needed more from the others. JR Smith had 14 points, but all were in the first half. Iman Shumpert added 10 points and five rebounds.3. It looked like Smith was going to have a big night. But he fizzled after halftime when the Cavs needed him most. Once again, the Cavs shot under 40 percent (39.5). They've shot under 40 percent in three games in the series. It's the Cavs that is supposed to have the suffocating defense. In this series, it's been Golden State.4. The Cavs got outrebounded by the Warriors, 43-37, despite the fact Golden State played small the entire game. The Warriors also had the edge in offensive rebounds, 11-10. It seemed like Golden State got several key offensive rebounds when it mattered most.5. James' numbers in the series: 36.6 points, 12.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists. He also has two triple-doubles. He could be only the second player to win MVP honors on a losing team - if the Cavs don't win the last two games. The other one was Lakers guard Jerry West in 1969.6. Warriors forward Andre Iguodala has been downright impressive in this series. Not only is he making James work for everything he gets, he outscored him in Game 4, 22-20. No one was expecting that kind of performance by Iguodala, who flirted with a triple-double himself tonight with 14 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals.7. The bald-face lie by Steve Kerr got kind of brushed under the rug before Game 4. He said Andrew Bogut would start, knowing his nose was growing as he said it. He didn't want to tip off the Cavs. I lost respect for him with that stunt.8. Blatt lengthened his bench for Game 5. He played Mike Miller almost 14 minutes. He had to do that just to get by. He couldn't play all of his players almost 40 minutes ever game.UP NEXT: Game 6, NBA Finals, at Cleveland, Quicken Loans Arena, June 16, 9 p.m.

Game 4: Warriors at Cavs

1. The Cavaliers might be in trouble. The Warriors made the first major adjustment in the series, and changed the whole complexion of the NBA Finals. Coach Steve Kerr went small with his starting lineup, and the Cavs didn't adjust to it all night. OK, they did when they moved out to a 7-0 lead, but then things got ugly.2. What the move did was spread the floor. It gave them open looks at the 3-point line. It gave them driving lanes. The Cavs appeared to be in scramble mode on defense the whole night. The Warriors got open looks. They created mismatches all over the floor. The Cavs kept their big men on the floor, but it created mismatches like 7-1 Timofey Mozgov covering 6-6 Andre Iguodala. 3. Warriors guard Stephen Curry is finally playing like the league's MVP. He had 22 points and six assists. He made 4 of 7 from the 3-point line. Cavs guard Matthew Dellavedova wasn't nearly as effective on the defensive end as he was in the previous games. Curry got a bit physical with Delly, as well. The Warriors put their foot down. There were tired of being pushed around by the Cavs. They battled. They fought. Draymond Green likened it to a street fight.4. That great defense by the Cavs wasn't there in Game 4. The Warriors shot 47 percent from the field and 40 percent from the 3-point line. The Cavs limited them to 97.3 points per game in the first three games. They averaged a league-high 110 during the regular season.5. The Cavs proved they can't win unless LeBron James has a huge game. Twenty points, 12 rebounds and eight assists won't get it done. They also proved they can't keep the Warriors in check unless James is on the court. He sat out the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, and Golden State immediately left them in the dust. Game, set, match.6. James got stitches in his head after ramming into the camera on the sideline. He wouldn't say how many he got, however. It gave him a headache. "It's the same kind you'd get if any of you ran into a camera," he said.7. Timofey Mozgov's 28 points were the most by a Cavs center in the playoffs since Brad Daugherty in 1992. Daugherty had 40 points and 16 rebounds vs. New Jersey. Mozgov was quite good, but the Warriors knew he couldn't beat them by himself.8. Everyone has been waiting for J.R. Smith to have a good game. They are still waiting. He had four points in Game 4. He was 2 of 12 from the field and 0 of 8 from the 3-point line. How would you assess your game in the NBA Finals? "Horse(bleep)," Smith said.

Game 3: Warriors at Cavs

1. What more can one say about LeBron James? He's averaging more than 40 points a game in this series. He's taking a lot of shots, but who's counting? He's taken his game to another level. Unfortunately for the Warriors, they aren't able to go with him. One thing in Golden State's favor coming into this series was it had several players who could guard James. Well, Andre Iguodala is the only one who has had any success. Harrison Barnes hasn't made a dent in James' game, and neither has Draymond Green. Green has more than his hands full with Tristan Thompson, who is averaging 14 rebounds a game in this series. James is going to be MVP of the NBA Finals for the third time in his illustrious career.2. Let me get this out of the way now, the longer this series goes on, the more I dislike Green. I respect his game. He's a very good player. I just don't like the way he operates. He's a tough guy and set a mean screen on Iman Shumpert, who injured his left shoulder on the play. I'd bring Kendrick Perkins in just for a couple plays. I want to see Green get "tough" with Perk.

3. Here's the one thing that concerns me: Stephen Curry got it going in the fourth quarter with 17 of his 27 points. He finally looked like the player that won the MVP award. He said he saw something that allowed him to attack the pick-and-roll a little more efficiently. The Warriors exploded for 36 points in the fourth - twice as many as they scored in the third. Now, if suddenly the Warriors catch fire, this could be a whole new series.4. Curry said they expect to come out strong in Game 4 and try to tie the series at 2-2. The Cavs have to sell out to win Thursday's game. Play like it's Game 7. They'd love to go up 3-1 before heading back to California. The Warriors are not going down easy. They are just too good a team.5. Cavs guard Matthew Dellavedova failed to come to the postgame interview area. The Cavs say he was being treated for severe cramps at the Cleveland Clinic. He got IV treatments. He played so well with a postseason career high 20 points, five rebounds and four assists. He had just two turnovers in 39 minutes. 6. Delly made Curry work extremely hard once again. The MVP also turned the ball over six times. That's 12 miscues now in his last two games. That's got to bother him as much as his sub-par shooting.7. The Cavs might have really dodged a bullet with the shoulder injury to Shumpert. "Guys set screens and you usually go shoulder to shoulder a lot, and that time it hurt a little bit more than usual," Shump said. We're assuming he can play on Thursday. We don't know for sure, but this guy is tough as nails. 8. The Cavs got 17 points from their bench in Game 3 - 10 by JR Smith and seven by James Jones. They need to keep getting solid contributions from the bench. The Cavs are waiting for Smith to have one of his breakout games where he drops in about seven 3-pointers. It hasn't happened yet.9. Their defensive intensity has been fantastic in their series. They held the Warriors to 40 percent shooting. They also limited Golden State to 37 points in the first half - their lowest-scoring half of the season. 10. Since Jan. 19, the Cavs are an NBA-best 27-2 at The Q, including 9-0 vs. the Western Conference. They need two more wins for the NBA title. I'm starting to feel it.

Game 2: Cavs at Warriors

1. There's not much analysis needed for this game. The Cavs were desperate for a victory. Some didn't agree with me that this was a must-win. Try going down 0-2 to a talented team like Golden State and see where it gets you. The Cavs are one LeBron James/Iman Shumpert jumper away from being up 2-0 in this series. Of course, Golden State feels the same way.2. This was the Cavs' first ever win in the NBA Finals. They were swept in the Finals in 2007 by San Antonio. Now, the Cavs are coming home to The Q. James wants the Cleveland fans to be louder than they've ever been. He credited Golden State with having a great home crowd, but he wants The Q to be even better. It's going to be a wild ride in this series. The fans can help the Cavs win a couple games in the Finals.3. The Cavs will be playing without point guard Kyrie Irving for the rest of the series. He had surgery on Saturday to repair his broken knee cap. The injury happened in overtime when he bumped knees with Klay Thompson. As quickly as that, their chances of winning the series decreased dramatically. Just don't tell that to the Cavs. They don't believe it. Whenever they hear it, they get more fired up.4. As long as James keeps playing the way he has, they are going to be hard to beat. They have to keep getting contributions from role players like J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Timofey Mozgov, James Jones and Matthew Dellavedova. The season is actually hanging in the balance with that group of players. 5. Delly, of course, is the Cavs' new starting point guard. He was getting shredded by Klay Thompson early in the game. He shifted over to MVP Stephen Curry, and helped shut him down. This is the league's premiere backcourt. They can get their shots off so quickly. You really have to crowd them at the 3-point line and hope they don't drive to the basket. Curry had 19 points, but had a terrible night shooting. He was 5 of 23 from the field, 2 of 15 from the 3-point line. He said it won't happen again.6. The Cavs are confident they can win the series. They almost have to win both games in Cleveland to do it. They are capable of doing that, too, especially with the crazy fans.7. This marks the first time in NBA Finals history the first two games of the series went into overtime.8. The Cavs led by 11 points, 83-72, with 3:14 left in the fourth quarter. The Warriors were back in the game at a snap of a finger. They are so explosive.9. It was the fifth triple-double of James' NBA Finals career. He has 13 in the playoffs in his career. 10. The Warriors scored 14 points in the third quarter, their lowest output in a quarter in the playoffs this year.

Game 1: Cavs at Warriors

1. We'll now enter the Kyrie Irving stage. Will he play? Won't he play? Will he sit out a game or two? He left the arena on crutches with a left knee injury. Coach David Blatt said he didn't collide with another player. It just kind of happened. It's reportedly not a torn ACL. He'll have an MRI on Friday. If I had to guess right now, I'd say he won't play.2. That means we'll see a lot of Matthew Dellavedova. Like 45 mintues of him. And don't expect him to score anywhere close to 23 points (what Irving scored in Game 1). It could be the difference in this series. Without a healthy Irving, the Cavs weren't going to win any way. They needed his scoring to get past Golden State. Now, if he misses even one game, the Cavs might not be able to recover. 3. LeBron James was very good in Game 1. He had 44 points, his playoff high this season. But it wasn't enough. He took 38 shots to get those 44 points. Afterward, he said he didn't play a great game. He settled for outside jumpers too much. His shot at the end of regulation was exactly what the Warriors wanted him to take. When he's attacking the basket, he's difficult to defend. Still, had his last-second shot fallen, everyone's feelings would be different today.4. The Cavs are officially in desperation mode. The news on Irving is depressing enough. But falling behind after Game 1 is a downer. If they fall behind 0-2 against this team, forget it. The Warriors are just too good. 5. The Warriors got several good performances from their bench players, including Andre Iguodala (15 points) and Marreese Speights (eight points). The Cavs were outscored off the bench, 34-9. All nine points came from JR Smith. None of them came after halftime.6. If Irving can't play, even more will be heaped on James' shoulders. He'll be asked to run the offense, call some of the plays, executive the game plan and spearhead the defense. I do know he didn't drive the team bus to Oracle Arena tonight, but it's a wonder. 7. James isn't a guy you'll have to worry about. He's built to perform in games like this. James became the first player in NBA history to average at least 30 points, 11.0 rebounds and 9.0 assists in a playoff series vs. the Hawks. He could average 40 points against the Warriors and the Cavs might still lose.8. Delly is big man on campus out here. He's getting a lot of attention since he played at nearby St. Mary's. He'd had a magical run in this postseason so far. He'll need for it to continue. He played just 9:23 tonight and didn't score. Heck, he didn't even take a shot. Now, the Cavs might ask him to start in the biggest game of the season against MVP Stephen Curry. Somehow, that's not fair.9. The Cavs' defense didn't slow down Golden State's backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. They combined to score 47 points and pull down 10 rebounds. They got off to a slow start, but finished fast.10. The Cavs had their seven-game playoff winning streak snapped. They had also won 14 of their last 15 against against the Western Conference. None of that stuff matters now. The Cavs have to win Game 2 to have a chance in this series. The Cavs are now 12-3 overall in the postseason this year.

Game 4: Hawks at Cavs

1. The Cavs knew what they were doing by bringing back Kyrie Irving on this night. They knew it elicit a huge response from the already fired-up fans. And it did. Irving will now have until June 4 to rest that achy knee.2. They pulled out all the stops tonight to get the crowd jacked up. They showed Browns tackle Joe Thomas. They brought former Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George out to say a few words. They flashed injured Kevin Love on the big screen. They knew what they were doing. 3. LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to average at least 30 points, 11.0 rebounds and 9.0 assists in a playoff series. If it looked like he was dominant in this series, obviously, he was. The Hawks had no answer for him defensively. They tried to defend him, just didn't have the personnel to do so. If it's Golden State that comes out of the West, the Warriors have several players that can guard James: Andre Iguodala, Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes. It's not going to be easy.4. James was very emotional after the game. He refused to guarantee a victory in the NBA Finals. He did guarantee one thing: They will play their asses off. They've been playing so hard for such a long time now. The Cleveland fans love how hard they play. They're hard-working fans and a hard-working team. It's a good combination.5. James' two steals moved him into seventh place on the NBA's all-time playoff list, surpassing Mo Cheeks (295) and Larry Bird (296). 6. It was the fifth time in franchise history, the Cavs have held a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven series. On every occasion (2007 vs. Washington, 2009 vs. Detroit, 2009 vs. Atlanta, 2015 vs. Boston and 2015 vs. Atlanta), the Cavs completed the four-game sweep. 7. The Cavs' defense has been outstanding in the postseason. They've limited their opponents to 41.8 percent shooting in the postseason this season. They held the Hawks to 88 points, 42 percent shooting from the field and 16 percent shooting from behind the arc in Game 4. It was the fifth time they held an opponent under 90 points in the playoffs (5-0) and the third time they held a playoff foe under 20 percent shooting from behind the arc (3-0).8. The Cavs continue to bomb away from the 3-point line. They tied a franchise playoff record of 14 3-pointers in Game 3. They've made 10 or more 3-pointers in five consecutive games. They are deadly from behind the arc.

9. It's been eight games since J.R. Smith has been coming off the bench - since he returned from his two-game suspension. In that span, he's averaged 15 points and 5.0 rebounds and is shooting 50 percent. He's also defending at a high level. He's playing outstanding basketball. He's certainly bought into what Coach David Blatt is preaching. He had his third career playoff double-double in Game 4, including two in a row.10. The Cavs are riding a seven-game winning streak into the NBA Finals. They are 12-2 overall in the postseason this year.